Arriving Home
by Bat'Arieh
Summary: In a day and a half Aslan transformed a young English couple into the monarchs that were to rule His Narnia.  My thoughts on what transpired while Digory, Polly and Fledge were on their mission to the west, and a further introduction to Frank and Helen.


**A/N:** Narnia is not my own, but I am thankful for Lewis' deep heart and imagination and am happy to poke around the unexplored corners of his world.

So I have begun! The first chapter of my first posted story is below. _Arriving Home_ is sort of a prologue to a longer story I am working on (_Cair Paravel_). I wanted to explore the lives of King Frank and Queen Helen as they and all of their subjects settled into Narnia. But the longer story is still intimidating to me, so I thought I would get to know the Frank and Helen through their conversations with Aslan that took place in the day and a half that Digory, Polly and Fledge were off to fetch the apple. If you read it, I would love to get some criticism back. I am in learning mode and I welcome all who will to be my teachers!

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** The First Lesson**

Frank looked around himself, wondering for not the first time that day if he was not really dreaming. And truly, the young man had more reason than most to wonder such a thing. He had just watched as his faithful old cab horse had grown wings and flown away with two children on its back. Just an hour before that he had had a conversation with the same horse, not the way we have a conversation with our pet dogs, for where our own animals will politely listen but never speak (at least not in our own language) the horse had spoken as much as Frank had. In fact, he was now surrounded by a menagerie of talking beasts. And sometime in the midst of all of this his beloved Nellie (that was what Frank called his wife) had stepped into this dream world, appearing out of nowhere at the call of a Lion.

And, oh! the Lion! The other animals (including his horse, who seemed no longer to be _his_ horse) had called him Aslan. Wherever Frank's eyes wandered across this incredible landscape, he found they kept landing on the magnificent, golden beast. Strange, thought Frank, but it seemed that no matter how fantastic his surroundings and the experiences of that morning, the Lion was the most real thing he had seen. Perhaps the most real thing he had ever seen. If this was a dream, thought Frank, the Lion certainly was not.

A gentle squeeze of his hand brought Frank's attention back to the beautiful woman standing beside him. His heart soared as he realized that he was sharing this experience with the most important person in his life. Then it beat quicker as he saw the wonder in her eyes. She was real, too. Not a dream of his wife, but truly herself. Frank stepped behind Helen (this is what everyone else called her, and so shall we), and encircled her in an embrace. He felt somehow protective of her in this new place. Not because he anticipated that anything here could harm his love, but because he was not yet sure that she felt the same way.

"I am so glad you are 'ere, Nellie love," he whispered in her ear as she nestled into his strong arms. "What do you think o' all this?"

Helen felt a small cry catch in her throat, the way you sometimes feel when you have found something that you want very, very much but are suddenly afraid of losing it. "Is it real, my love? What the Lion said, oh I believe I do trust him, that he means for us to stay. But I am so scared that I will wake up soon and find it was all a dream."

At that moment both husband and wife heard a most soothing sound at their side. The great, golden Lion had approached them unheard, and now sat there, purring deeply and smoothly, as a cat will do when it is perfectly contented. His eyes were on the other creatures he had awakened, watching as they explored the land he had made for them.

"And what think you, King Frank, my son?" asked Aslan. "Is this real, or only a dream?"

The young man, continuing to hold his wife, answered by voicing his earlier thoughts. "I know _you_ are real, sir. More real than anything I've ever known. And I agree with my wife – we both believe you, Aslan. So yes, even though I've only 'eard children's stories of such things 'afore, this must all be real, seein' as it all came from you."

"Very good, Frank," the Lion responded, now turning his shining eyes on the two humans. He spoke without a break in his purring, and his voice was perfectly joyful and perfectly sincere at the same time. "This is the first and the most important lesson."

Frank tilted his head to one side and scrunched up his forehead a bit. "Lesson, sir?"

"Yes," answered Aslan, and now his purring subsided a bit, but his voice deepened and it was as though his words were pressing not just on their ears and minds but on their hearts. "Though I am not teaching you this truth, but showing you that it is already inside of you. It is called by many names. Trust is one. Faith is another. Its name, however, is not the important part. All that you need know is that it is in you. This is the beginning and end of all that I meant when I said you shall know me more."

At this point Helen found that as Aslan had been speaking she had reached out to stroke his mane. It did not occur to her what she was doing: it somehow seemed perfectly natural, and the Lion did not appear to mind. His fur did not feel as she would have expected. It was the softest, most comforting thing she had ever touched. Aslan began to purr again, deeper and happier than before. Helen now discovered that she felt completely safe, and any lingering worries and questions and doubts were nowhere to be found. She sighed deeply and cried for a brief moment out of sheer joy – for it was true, it was all true. They would stay. And they would know Aslan more.


End file.
